Auralic Aires: Optimizing sound quality

[prot]

I got the sorbathene feet from Great Britain. They are 25 Pounds plus shipment for a set of four.

 

The Nero Assoluto base plates are between 80 and 300 Euros depending on their size plus the feet and a special glue to attach the feet to them.

 

Well, at least you did not pay super audiophile prices ... although brute Nero granit plates do cost about €40/qm and that's enough for your usecase. Btw, I use bluetack instead of any "special glue"...that stuff is the audiophile's duct tape

I'm impressed by the amount of work you put into that setup ... just not sure it's worth the effort in terms of soundQ... unless you do it for fun

[wisnon]

That is looking quite massive. Nice craftmanship!

 

I startet with a Transparent Audio Power bank and changed it for the Isotek solution with a few sub strips made by Isotek as well.

 

Added some mains clearing devices made by Vertex AQ (UK) as well, that bettered the performance.

 

Have tried different brands, but until now did not find anything that changed the sound in a way I did like better with „my“ setup.

 

Did not try the Mudrak Audio Power strip though......

 

Its German, made by the firm that builds the Fischer and Fischer Granite speakers:

High End Swiss 2014: Fischer & Fischer Speakers and Mudra Akustics | The Audio Traveler

[TubeLover]

I'm truly impressed by the effort you've gone to in isolating the Aries, Matthias. Is it possible for you to place a general % of improvement to the sound quality that you feel this has added?

 

It's also great to see my friend Ray Samuels Raptor headphone amplifier all the way over there in Europe. I also own one (number four, in production, in fact)

 

JC

 

Here are a few pics of the setup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got the sorbathene feet from Great Britain. They are 25 Pounds plus shipment for a set of four.

 

The Nero Assoluto base plates are between 80 and 300 Euros depending on their size plus the feet and a special glue to attach the feet to them.

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[McMaly]

I'm truly impressed by the effort you've gone to in isolating the Aries, Matthias. Is it possible for you to place a general % of improvement to the sound quality that you feel this has added?

 

It's also great to see my friend Ray Samuels Raptor headphone amplifier all the way over there in Europe. I also own one (number four, in production, in fact)

 

JC

 

 

I do not consider it reputable to name a percentage to describe the increase in SQ.

 

All I can say is that when I started with the Aries it was on par with the Linn Akurate DS1 I have been using before.

 

I did operate the Akurate with the Resonessence Concero HD, that bettered the performance compared to the built in dac of the Akurate.

 

Now it clearly outperforms a Linn Klimax DS.

 

Nice to see, that other citizens populating this „digital environment“ are also liking tubes.

 

The SN of my Raptor is 008.

 

I do like Rays products a lot. I started with a Hornet and now do also own a SR71a, a Shadow and a Nighthawk.

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[JDOz]

For what it's worth, I did some more tests on SSD feed after buying a 2nd battery supply. The best SQ is when I battery power the SSD via a SATA filter and also separately battery power the SATA-USB adaptor via a split USB cable (only data and ground travelling to Aires).

 

The overall improvement is not trivial to my ears; best sound so far but looks like a dog's breakfast.

[JDOz]

Exactly my findings.... I do prefer the wired connection over the WIFI, even though the cables used up quite some money to establish this.

 

Mr. Wang says: WIFI is best......

 

Right now, the USB HD input sounds best to my ears.

 

I am using it even though the Lightning Server does not seem to like some of my files. So I am very carefully adding albums.

 

I did try various SSDs, USB-Sticks, bus powered 2,5" HDs and external powered HDs.

 

I settled with the external powered 3,5" WD HD in a fanless enclosure with upgraded PSU.

 

It seems that any kind of vibration is altering SQ to the worse.

 

Matthias, have you tried wifi vs. wired when playing from your WD HD with Lightning server? If not, perhaps you could try one day and report back e.g. listen on wired; switch Aires to wireless; listen, then unplug ethernet cable and listen again.

Cheers

[McMaly]

Matthias, have you tried wifi vs. wired when playing from your WD HD with Lightning server? If not, perhaps you could try one day and report back e.g. listen on wired; switch Aires to wireless; listen, then unplug ethernet cable and listen again.

Cheers

 

Did not try that since the USB-HD support upgrade, but just did as proposed.

 

It really sounds better, when the Aries is operated wireless using the USB-HD input.

 

So, SQ is altered to the bad side, when the LAN cable ist sitting in its slot on the Aries.

 

Since the USB-HD support (Lightning-Server) is not yet working properly with all my files, as mentioned before, I am still dependend on the wire to access my complete library situated on my NAS.

 

Conclusion: I will get rid of the LAN-wire sticking in my Aries for good, as soon as the Lightning-Server is accepting all my files.

 

I do hope the next firmware-upgrade will fix this.

 

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[JDOz]

Did not try that since the USB-HD support upgrade, but just did as proposed.

 

It really sounds better, when the Aries is operated wireless using the USB-HD input.

 

So, SQ is altered to the bad side, when the LAN cable ist sitting in its slot on the Aries.

 

Since the USB-HD support (Lightning-Server) is not yet working properly with all my files, as mentioned before, I am still dependend on the wire to access my complete library situated on my NAS.

 

Conclusion: I will get rid of the LAN-wire sticking in my Aries for good, as soon as the Lightning-Server is accepting all my files.

 

I do hope the next firmware-upgrade will fix this.

 

 

Cheers,

Matthias

 

Glad it will help you in the future. You helped me (and others) a lot with that test. I will devote my $ and time to optimizing via Lightning server and hope,like you, that Auralic will make it better.

Thanks VERY much Matthias

[fabien44]

I did try various SSDs, USB-Sticks, bus powered 2,5" HDs and external powered HDs.

 

I settled with the external powered 3,5" WD HD in a fanless enclosure with upgraded PSU.

 

It seems that any kind of vibration is altering SQ to the worse.

Hello,

 

your conclusion is 3.5 HDD is better than SSD and better than 2.5 HDD and USB-sticks?

What are your fanless enclosure and upgraded PSU?

 

Thanks

[McMaly]

Hello,

 

your conclusion is 3.5 HDD is better than SSD and better than 2.5 HDD and USB-sticks?

What are your fanless enclosure and upgraded PSU?

 

Thanks

 

Before I got the Aries I have been playing my DSD files with Audirvana on a Macbook Pro i7 SSD using my Resonessence Concero HD dac.

 

I did a lot of SQ comparisons with multiple USB sticks, SSDs and 2,5" bus powered HDs.

 

The best sounding combination in my case was a 64 GB Micro SD card from Sandisk sitting in a Nifty drive.

 

With this solution the space for my music files was very limited because there is just one slot for the nifty drive in the Macbook Pro.

 

So, I did always have to change the content of the drive to be able to listen to my favourite tracks.

 

The second best choice was a 2,5" bus powered 1 TB My Passport slim drive from WD, that sounded even better than the internal original Apple SSD.

 

I did as well try several Samsung SSDs via the adapter that came with the SSDs without using a special housing for them.

 

The 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim drive from WD came out on top again.

 

I tried various USB-Sticks and bus powered 2,5" HDs and SSDs with the Aries, before I settled for the 4 TB MY Book Studio by WD that I am using right now.

 

I do like the comfort of being able to have ALL my music on one drive, as soon as the incompatibility issues with certain files using Lightning Server will have been solved.

 

Any whatsoever storing device using the Aries USB-port for powering altered the SQ to the bad side.

 

I did also try various external powered 3,5" HDs in housings by LaCie, Seagate and WD.

 

My experience was. If there is a fan and a PSU in the housing the performance is poor.

 

I put my fanless 4 TB My Book Studio WD HD on a special base and replaced the 2 Amp Wallwart SMPS with a 5 Amp linear PSU.

 

Those two changes bettered the SQ a lot.

 

ALL things said before are of course just my personal findings with my gear.

 

Experiences may vary with other persons ears and other gear, as always.

 

 

Things I did not try so far: externally powered SSDs and battery power for my 4TB WD HD.

 

 

Maybe someone on the forum can write about his experiences with this………

 

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[fabien44]

Thanks Matthias for your feedback.

 

Is your last solution (My book powered externally by 5A PSU) has a superior SQ to your first solution 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim drive?

 

What is your special base and your 5A LPSU?

i own already a WD My Passport USB 3.0 2 To bus powered. Space is enough for my need.

I wonder if i could change to another storage solution to improve SQ, so your feedback is very useful.

[McMaly]

Thanks Matthias for your feedback.

 

Is your last solution (My book powered externally by 5A PSU) has a superior SQ to your first solution 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim drive?

i own already a WD My Passport USB 3.0 2 To bus powered. Space is enough for my need.

I wonder if i could change to another storage solution to improve SQ, so your feedback is very useful.

 

Yes, to my findings the externaly powered 4 TB My BOOK is far superior to the 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim......but only after the 2 mods I did.

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[fabien44]

Yes, to my findings the externaly powered 4 TB My BOOK is far superior to the 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim......but only after the 2 mods I did.

 

Cheers,

Matthias

And what is your special base and model of your 5A LPSU?

[McMaly]

And what is your special base and model of your 5A LPSU?

 

 

As told earlier, I am using taylormade base plates made of Nero Assoluto Granite with special sorbathene feet glued underneath with a special glue.

 

Try searching for Vertex AQ (UK). Super Kinabalu equipment platform

Right now I am trying a 2nd set of the feet just put on top of the granite without glueing them.

 

So, there is a second set of the feet between the plate and the HD-housing.

 

It always takes a few days for the feet to settle. I will listen to the setup in the end of the week.

 

The PSU is just a standard one originally made for TFT monitors. The filtering has to be very good, because otherwise you will find fragments of the PSU operating on the screen in the picture.

 

I picked it up at a local dealer. So nothing special high end HIFIish. I am using the same one for my Airport Extreme.

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[prot]

Before I got the Aries I have been playing my DSD files with Audirvana on a Macbook Pro i7 SSD using my Resonessence Concero HD dac.

 

I did a lot of SQ comparisons with multiple USB sticks, SSDs and 2,5" bus powered HDs.

 

The best sounding combination in my case was a 64 GB Micro SD card from Sandisk sitting in a Nifty drive.

 

With this solution the space for my music files was very limited because there is just one slot for the nifty drive in the Macbook Pro.

 

So, I did always have to change the content of the drive to be able to listen to my favourite tracks.

 

The second best choice was a 2,5" bus powered 1 TB My Passport slim drive from WD, that sounded even better than the internal original Apple SSD.

 

I did as well try several Samsung SSDs via the adapter that came with the SSDs without using a special housing for them.

 

The 2,5" bus powered My Passport slim drive from WD came out on top again.

 

I tried various USB-Sticks and bus powered 2,5" HDs and SSDs with the Aries, before I settled for the 4 TB MY Book Studio by WD that I am using right now.

 

I do like the comfort of being able to have ALL my music on one drive, as soon as the incompatibility issues with certain files using Lightning Server will have been solved.

 

Any whatsoever storing device using the Aries USB-port for powering altered the SQ to the bad side.

 

I did also try various external powered 3,5" HDs in housings by LaCie, Seagate and WD.

 

My experience was. If there is a fan and a PSU in the housing the performance is poor.

 

I put my fanless 4 TB My Book Studio WD HD on a special base and replaced the 2 Amp Wallwart SMPS with a 5 Amp linear PSU.

 

Those two changes bettered the SQ a lot.

 

ALL things said before are of course just my personal findings with my gear.

 

Experiences may vary with other persons ears and other gear, as always.

 

 

Things I did not try so far: externally powered SSDs and battery power for my 4TB WD HD.

 

 

Maybe someone on the forum can write about his experiences with this………

 

 

Cheers,

Matthias

 

This may become an annoying mantra, but may I ask how exactly did you test all those things? Any abx or blind testing?

PC storageX vs. storageY would be easy to do with the foobar abx plugin. But linn vs. auralic may get pretty ugly ... so, how exactly did you test that?

[McMaly]

This may become an annoying mantra, but may I ask how exactly did you test all those things? Any abx or blind testing?

PC storageX vs. storageY would be easy to do with the foobar abx plugin. But linn vs. auralic may get pretty ugly ... so, how exactly did you test that?

 

After using my LP 12 and a few different CD-Players I started up with the Akurate DS, than the DS1, installed the Resonessence dac, tried a few different cables.

 

Next thing I played DSD files through my Macbook Pro. After SQ being so much better than FLAC, I looked for an all in one solution and bought the Aries.

 

All this including installing the base plates, power conditioning etc. took several years.

 

Comparison was done blind testing with a few friends on weekends. The person that did the switch did not tell the others, to what equipment of 2 pieces of gear tested (whatever it was) he did change. We did this a-b-ing several times, when trying to figure out what works (sounds) best.

 

I never went back to older installed gear, when something proofed to be better. The blind tests have always been quite clear. More than just the majority of the persons listening came to identical findings.

 

After all this is just a hobby and one is supposed to have fun with this. I like listening to good music in good quality, like everybody else here...........I suppose.

 

I am not doing this for a special purpose of its own.

 

 

Cheers,

Matthias

[dmormerod]

Anyone else notice the 'damper' that Auuralic have under their Aries at CES. Checkout the pics on their FB page. The comments don't describe what it is other than being a 'damper' that apparently improves sound.

[jtwrace]

It just looks like a Mojo Audio Atomic Base. See here.

[russellbobby]

Anyone else notice the 'damper' that Auuralic have under their Aries at CES. Checkout the pics on their FB page. The comments don't describe what it is other than being a 'damper' that apparently improves sound.

 

Very similar to what folks are using under their Mac Mini's. Sure that is what it was designed for.

[jtwrace]

I use a piece of granite with some Herbie grungebuster dots under it and then some Herbie Tenderfeet under the ARIES. Simple and very cost effective.

[Distinctive]

Yes, it seems like the Mojo.

The Aries chassis is slightly bigger, though.

[wisnon]

I use a piece of granite with some Herbie grungebuster dots under it and then some Herbie Tenderfeet under the ARIES. Simple and very cost effective.

 

Good pricing. How do they compare (if you have such experience) to the likes of Sistrum stands, HRT Nimbus, ball bearings, black ravioli, etc?

[kennyb123]

Lots of interesting ideas in this thread. I just received my Aries yesterday and will just allow it to settle in a few days before attempting anything. That's more to allow my ears to get used to what I'm hearing. I need to get acclimated to all the improvements over my Mac Mini that was running A+.

 

A Nordost Magus power cord is supplying power to the Aries' LPS. I think I saw a fuse holder in the back of the LPS, so I may at some point try to swap in an audiophile fuse. That's lower priority though than addressing vibration.

 

I have a spare set of Stillpoints cones that I will try under the Aries. I also have a Herbie's SuperSonic Stabilizer that I can try to place on the top of the Aries.

[wanta911]

I use a piece of granite with some Herbie grungebuster dots under it and then some Herbie Tenderfeet under the ARIES. Simple and very cost effective.

 

Hey JT - do you have anything on top of the Aries?

[jtwrace]

Hey JT - do you have anything on top of the Aries?

 

Just air. ;-)

 

To be clear though. Isolation is good practice but I can't say that I hear any difference. I've always done this with all gear but I don't put any weight into subjectivity. Certainly I've heard changes with my TT (when I had one). There are so many other things that mean so much more (room acoustics) so that's where I put more effort as there is a definitive gain with that. Again, not saying that isolation isn't worth it..it's good practice.